Humility

The Heart behind Everything

/ Joshua Thomas / Leave a comment

This past weekend I was able to be a part of Daystar Kids’ FX (Family Experience). I love getting to be a part of this event, getting to have fun and see kids and families come together is such an awesome thing to see and be involved in. Each time this event comes up and I have been asked to play a part in it, I get excited. Memorizing lines, helping put together the really cool set, and being able to be around other people that are just as passionate about the next generation as I am. It’s the best, even when technical difficulties happen, the quick speed memorizing of lines before, and any other unexpected issues that happen, I love doing it. The coolest thing to see is everyone else apart of it, people that aren’t doing it for attention or being in front of a crowd, but people who have their hearts in the right place. As I was thinking about this over the weekend it really stuck with me, this idea of where my heart is in all that I do. I know I don’t always put my heart in the right place, pride can creep in, we can start to judge others, and lose sight of the true purpose. This applies to everything we do, whether that’s something you do at your church, how you act in your job, or how you treat the people you call family. Your heart determines the result of everything you do.

In Matthew 6:21 it says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This verse speaks to the point of why our heart behind everything is so important. Whatever it is that you truly treasure, the thing that you need on a daily basis, the thing that you put trust in that is what your heart will be focused on. That could be a career, a relationship, or yourself. I struggle with that last one. It’s so easy for me to want to depend on my own strength and thinking only about what I want. The same is true for many of us. Maybe you are so obsessed with your career that you miss out on time with your family, or that unhealthy relationship you keep going back to. All these things are weak and will only bring pain into our lives. There is hope. Redirecting what you value back to Christ, will allow your heart to be in the best place during all circumstances. So what exactly mean to make Christ the place where I put my value in? Well I’m so glad you asked, faithful reader! I want to share what I have found and what God has taught me on how to have my heart in the right place. My hope is that you leave this blog post with a new desire to have your heart in the right place, no matter what the situation you find yourself in.

Trust in the Lord with your heart.

This is a tough one, saying I give my complete trust to God is not an easy thing to do. So often I find myself trying to fix everything on my own, I try to solve the problems around me that are impossible for me to carry. It causes me to get angry and lose sight of what is important; my heart ends up in the wrong place. Luckily, God knows that I do this and that you do this, Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” What a powerful verse! Not only are we to give complete trust in Christ, but when we do he will direct our every move. When our heart is focused on the one who knows all things and is a sovereign creator, we can walk in confidence knowing that God directs our path.

Guard your heart.

After we begin to put trust in God, the battle isn’t over. This is where pride will start to creep in, we are following what God has for us, but the enemy wants us to fall. We start to get more opportunities to have influence over others as they look to us, and that’s when we need to be careful that we don’t say to ourselves, “Oh yes, hello little peasants, bow before me.” Wait you don’t say that? You get the point that I’m making though, we need to remember that humility speaks louder than your actions. We also have to be careful of the words we say, both verbally and your internet speak (That’s probably the right terminology). Words can cut like a sword, so when you speak to others do it in a way that builds them up, even though you may be judging them for how they act. Online presence is a more recent thing that I have noticed, before sharing that article or composing that tweet, think about how it will make others look at you. This isn’t just a rant, it’s in scripture. Proverbs 4:23-24 says, “Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth from perversity, keep corrupt talk from your lips.” Guard your heart, don’t let pride or foolish talk destroy your ministry.

Even when we screw up, take heart!

You are going to fail, encouraging I know, but we are all humans who suffer from not being perfect. Life will throw storms yours way, trust me I know what that feels like, but the thing we must remember is that our great God doesn’t leave us. Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Everything around us will fail, things will happen that we wish could erase, but even in all of this, God is constant. This part is up to you, will you choose to press into Christ, or will you turn away when struggles arise. Know that no matter how bad it gets and no matter how you screw up, you can be made new again. We just need to rely on the strength of Christ.

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Everything we do has an origin, and that origin is from the heart. When we feed our heart with the frail things of this world, we begin to miss out on what life has to offer. God designed each of us with a specific purpose in mind, he gave us gifts and talents to be used for so much more than our personal gain. We don’t have time for pride to get in the way, nor rely on our own strength in life. Trust in Christ, guard your heart, and take heart as we go forward in our lives. When we do this, our ministries, our jobs, and our relationships will be striving after Christ first. No matter what happens, the opportunities that are big or small, everything will be done with a higher purpose. You and I don’t have time to waste our lives on foolish things. Put your heart in Christ and he will drive your walk.

Pursue Christ, and live with his purpose in your life.

-Joshua Thomas

Being a Sacrificial Leader

/ Joshua Thomas / Leave a comment

As I continue to walk in faith and pursue a deeper relationship with Christ, I am always wanting to learn more so that I can in turn do more for the kingdom. So when I read through Romans 12 this weekend, I was enjoying every part of it. It has a very simple idea, we are to be a living sacrifice. A sacrifice is an offering to Christ, and when Paul says we should be a living sacrifice, he means that we are to offer ourselves up. Pretty simple, but then I started to wonder, what it looks like exactly to put this into practice. The chapter has two main ideas with one overarching theme. Romans 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Which immediately targets the first focus that every leader has to have if they want to be a sacrificial one.

A sacrificial leader works on their own heart first.

It’s easy to tell other people what they need to fix before we take an honest look at ourselves. What that first part of chapter 12 shows, is that we need to first work on our own focus and attitudes. The first step that we need to take if we want to lead sacrificially is to transform all of our mind. Not some of it, but all of it. God doesn’t want a leader who is still clinging to something that can only bring death. Now do we all have struggles? Well duh we’re human, but this verse is saying that we need to work towards living a pure life. So if you struggle with anything, don’t feel like you can’t ever be a leader, just don’t let that sin take over your mind. Seek council, listen to wise words from people who have gone before you, take the necessary steps to guard your heart from things that only bring pain. Step into freedom. Earlier I said there was an overarching theme with the two points, and that is the action of love. As you change your mind, practice showing love to others and good leaders that are around you will show you love. Transform your mind, step into freedom, and show love to those who help you get stronger. Then we see the second main way to be a sacrificial leader.

A sacrificial leader works with a team.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from people who have led me, is that we can’t live life alone. Romans 12:3-5 says, “ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” A leader values the people they lead, and a sacrificial leader knows that they need people to carry out the mission. I have never met anyone who was unimportant, all of us have something to contribute to one another. Each week I serve alongside a fantastic team, everyone with a special skillset that makes them a vital member of the team. In Daystar Kids team at the New Garden Campus, Beth leads using this formula, encouraging us all, and empowering us to be the best we can be. Every area of ministry is like this, it’s the reason I love serving. So naturally, as I find myself in leadership positions, I want to do the same. A sacrificial leaders empowers their team to be the best they can be. As I thought more about this a great example came to mind.

The X-men exemplify what it means to be a team of sacrificial leader.

Now before you roll your eyes at me, let me explain. I have always loved the X-men comics because it’s a great example of being a part of a team a leading wherever you are at. The X-men are all mutants with supernatural abilities, who are socially outcast because they aren’t understood by the rest of society. Instead of hurting others, the X-men defend the world from bad guys, each using their special skills to be the most effective as a team. It’s such a great example of how to be an effective sacrificial leader, working together to accomplish a common goal. In the body of Christ, the same is true, we work together using our gifts and talents to build the kingdom.

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To bring it together, a sacrificial is one who is pursuing Christ each day, and uses their talents to serve within the body of Christ. A leader is not someone who sits above others and barks orders, they are people who are willing to step into what they know God wants them to do. I want to be a sacrificial leader, I want to step into what God has for me, and I want to do all of it with an attitude of love for those who need it. I hope that this helps you be an effective leader no matter where you are in life because, you are special, and you have so much to offer.

-Joshua Thomas